Einh¿nder

Hands down, Einhander is the best shooter on the PlayStation.

Side-scrolling shooters have been at the top of gamers' playlists since the release of great games such as Gaires, Thunder Force, and even Defender. But since the launch of the PlayStation, shooters sort of died off and fighting games stole the spotlight. In attempt to rekindle the flame, Square took a break from developing RPGs and focused its energy into a shooting game named Einhander. Not only did Square 'rekindle' the side-scrolling genre with Einhander, but it has literally surpassed and set the standard - it's one of the best shooters I have ever played.

Set in the future, in an age of chaos, when the people of the earth are at war with the moon, Einhander throws a few unique elements into the established shooter style. For one, the game is comprised entirely of polygons. And with most shooters still possessing sprite-based graphics, Einhander already looks substantially better than most games of the same genre.

Yes, Einhander is fully polygonal, yet some may be confused thinking that the game is set in a full 3D environment -- not so. Einhander is set on rails, however, the camera does swing from side to side, occasionally panning to the top, even to the back, of your Endymion. In fact, that's one of the features that make this game so exciting, is the camera angles. In some instances, you fight bosses that are off to the left or even behind you, as opposed to the standard, the-right-side-of-the-screen-boss. I'm not sure if that's a term, but you get what I'm saying.

Square has always been well-known for great graphics and game presentation. But I think what separates Square titles from other games is its music compositions and sound effects. You don't have to admit it, but for those who've played Final Fantasy III (Final Fantasy VI in Japan), I bet, till this day, that you can hum at least five tracks from that game. And that's what really makes Einhander a complete package. It's explosive sound effects and music are simply unmatched. I normally don't purchase game soundtracks, but I have to admit, the Einhander soundtrack is at the top of my stack of CDs.

So what else can I say? Einhander looks impressive, plays incredibly fast, and has some of the best sound and music ever to grace the PlayStation. It's the best shooter currently available on the PSX.